Senator Cortez Masto introduces legislation to protect Nevada wildlife refuge
The desert refuge was protected in 1936 as a habitat preserve for bighorn sheep.
Sharon Schafer
The Desert National Wildlife Refuge would gain protection against military expansion under proposed legislation
The Wilderness Society praised the efforts of Senator Cortez Masto to achieve a balanced approach to the proposed Nellis Air Force Base expansion that will advance military readiness while protecting critical wildlands, wildlife, and cultural resources in Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge. The bill introduced by U.S. Senator Cortez Masto and co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen, will protect Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge and limit a plan to expand training exercises into the refuge. The initial U.S. Air Force proposal would have eliminated public access to hundreds of thousands of acres within the refuge and hand over a million acres of the refuge - America’s largest in the lower 48 - to the military.
“We are grateful that Senator Cortez Masto has taken a stand to protect this magnificent landscape,” said Paul Spitler, Director of Wilderness Policy at the Wilderness Society. “The Desert National Wildlife Refuge is a treasure that should be preserved for generations to come. It’s simply too important to be turned into a bombing range."
The Desert National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1936 to preserve habitat for Nevada’s state animal, the bighorn sheep. Located just north of Las Vegas, it contains ancient petroglyphs and artifacts from people who inhabited the site for thousands of years, and remains an important cultural resource to Native American tribes, including the southern Paiutes. The refuge also provides a home to hundreds of bird species, as well as a wide range of mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Nevadans have pushed back hard on the Air Force takeover proposal. Earlier this year, the state legislature passed a resolution opposing the plan in a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote.
The Wilderness Society looks forward to working with Senator Cortez Masto and the rest of the Nevada delegation to improve the legislation (S. 3145) and see it signed into law this Congress.
Additional Information:
Bill Text: Desert National Wildlife Refuge and Nevada Test and Training Range Withdrawal and Management Act
America's largest wildlife refuge outside Alaska should not be turned into a bombing range
Sustainability: Desert National Wildlife Refuge
CONTACTS
Andrea Alday, Deputy Director Regional Communications, The Wilderness Society, (818) 512-7628, andrea_alday@tws.org
Paul Spitler, Director of Wilderness Policy, The Wilderness Society, (202) 360-1912, paul_spitler@tws.org
